Spring frame assembly

ABSTRACT

A SEAT OR BACKREST SUBASSEMBLY TO BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF AN ITEM OF FURNITURE. THIS SUBASSEMBLY COMPRISES A RECTANGULAR WOODEN FRAME AND A PLURALITY OF ZIGZAG SPRINGS EXTENDING BETWEEN AND CONNECTED TO TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FRAME. THE CONNECTION OF THE SPRINGS TO THE FRAME INCLUDES A PAIR OF WIRES WHICH EXTENDS ALONG THE TOP OF THE TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FRAME AND ARE STAPLED THERETO. THE WIRES HAVE HOOKS CONFIGURATED THEREIN THROUGH WHICH THE ENDS OF THE ZIGZAG SPRINGS EXTEND OR THROUGH WHICH INTERCONNECTING HELICAL SPRINGS ARE CONNECTED TO THE FRAME.,

I United States Patent [11135 7420 {72] inventor John S. Greeno 3,207,499 9/1965 Vogel 267/112 Cincinnati, Ohio 3,388,904 6/1968 Crosby et al. 267/111 5; l 1968 Prirnary ExaminerBobby R. Gay I l I Assistant Examiner-Andrew M. Calvert [45] patmed June 1971 Attorney-Wood, Herron and Evans [73] Assignee Leggett and Platt. lnc.. Carthage, M0.

[54] SPRING FRAME ASSEMBLY 5 Chums 2 Drawmg Figs' ABSTRACT: A seat or backrest subassembly to be used in the U.S. production of an item of furniture ubassembly com. 267/110 prises a rectangular wooden frame and a plurality of zigzag [5]] Int. Cl A47c 23/ l springs extending between and connected to two opposite of Search ides of the frame The connection of the prings to the frame 267/1 1O, 1 1 l 12 includes a pair of wires which extends along the top of the two opposite sides of the frame and are stapled thereto. The wires [56] References cued have hooks configurated therein through which the ends of UNITED STATES PATENTS the zigzag springs extend or through which interconnecting 1,738,831 12/1929 Kean 267/112 helical springs are connected to the frame.

PATEN-TED JUN28 l9?! I INVEN OR BY W SPRING FRAME ASSEMBLY This invention relates to furniture construction and particularly to spring and frame subassemblies of the type which comprise a wooden frame having zigzag springs mounted therein. This type of subassembly is commonly employed in the manufacture of cushioned furniture such as chairs, sofas and couches.

In the manufacture of furniture, one of the major items of expense is that of labor employed in the assembling process. A primary objective of this invention has been to reduce the cost of labor involved in the assembly of chairs, sofas and similar items of furniture.

These items of furniture conventionally comprise a rectangular woodenframe for the seat and a wooden frame for the backrest. Zigzag springs are hung between two opposite sides of these frames by sheet metal clips which are generally U- shaped to form a hook. To attach the springs to the clips, one side of the clip is tacked to the wooden frame, the spring is hooked over the clip, and the opposite side of the clip is then tacked down against the first side. This double tacking arrangement is required because the bending strength of the clip withoutthe retacking reinforcement is not sufficient to support the weight required when the furniture is in use. Necessarily, this double tacking operation is a time-consuming one.

It has been one objective of this invention to provide an im proved seat and backrest assembly which very appreciably reduces the time required to attach the ends of zigzag springs to the wooden frames. Another objective of this invention has been to provide a new technique for attaching the ends of zigzag springs to wooden furniture frames so as to reduce the overall cost of the furniture.

These objectives have been accomplished by utilizing a single configurated wire to anchor all of the zigzag springs to one side of the frame. This wire is attached by staples to the wooden frame and has loops formed therein bent into a hook configuration. The ends of the zigzag springs are inserted directly through the hooks of the wire or are attached to the hooks by interconnecting helical springs.

This construction has the advantage of minimizing labor required to assemble the springs and frame and enabling a staple gun to be used to connect the wires to the frame. Consequently, it effects approximately a 50 percent reduction in assembly time over the conventional technique described hereinabove. It also has the advantage of automatically spacing the zigzag springs on the frame and thus eliminates manual measuring and marking of clip location on the frame.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a furniture seat subassembly incorporating the invention of this application, and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the subassembly.

The subassembly of this invention is to be used in the construction of chairs, sofas, couches, and similar items of fumiture which include a cushioned seat and/or a cushioned backrest. The invention is equally applicable to either subassembly but has been illustrated in a preferred embodiment as being incorporated in a seat. This seat assembly comprises a rectangular wooden frame 11, a pair of wire clips 12 and 13, a series of zigzag springs 14, 15, and 16, and a plurality of interconnecting helical springs 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22.

Three zigzag springs l4, 15, 16 have been illustrated in the drawings although it should be appreciated that the number and spacing will vary from application to application depending upon the width of the seat and the stiffness desired. These springs are conventional wire springs consisting of a series of parallel straight bar sections 23 interconnected at their ends by reversely bent arcuate end sections 24. At its opposite ends, each spring 14, 15, 16 has the end 25, 26 of the last straight bar section 27, 28 bent back toward the adjacent straight bar section so as to form a hook at both ends of the spring.

The frame 11 comprises a front wall or rectangular board 29, a rear wall or board 30 and a pair of sidewalls or boards 31, 32. Stapled to the top of the front and rear walls 29 and 30 are the wire clips 12, 13 having hooks formed therein for securing the end straight bar sections 27 and 28 of the zigzag springs l4, l5, and 16. 1

Referring first to the front clip 12, it will be seen that it has three equidistantly spaced loops 33, 34 and 35 formed therein. These loops are configurated into hooks. Each hook has a pair of parallel bottom sections 36 which rest upon the top of the front board 29 and a pair of parallel upwardly and forwardly bent hook sections 37 interconnected by a crossbar 38. When the front wire clip 12 is stapled to the top of the board 29 by a series of U-shaped staples 39, the loops 33, 34, 35 serve as hooks for the reception of the end bars 27 of the zigzag springs.

The rear wire clip 13 is generally configurated the same as the front wire clip 12 except that in the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, it has four equidistantly spaced loops and books 40, 41, 42, 43 formed therein. Except for this difference in number and spacing of the loops, the wire clips 12 and 13 are identical.

The rearwardmost straight bar sections 27 of the zigzag springs 14, 15, and 16 are connected to the loops of the wire clip 13 by the helical tension springs 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. Two helical tension springs connect with straight bar section to two adjacent loops in the wire 13. To this end, each helical spring has two semicylindrical loops 44, 45 bent into its opposite ends and adapted to be received over the end bar 27 of the zigzag spring and the hook-shaped loop of the wire clip 13, respectively.

As may be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the zigzag springs 14, 15 and 16 are preformed into a curvilinear arc or configuration when viewed in side elevation and are stretched into a more planar arcuate configuration when interconnected to the wire clips 12 and 13.

To assemble the seat assembly, the wire clips 12 and 13 are first assembled onto the top of the front and rear walls 29 and 30 of the rectangular frame. This is accomplished by hammering staples 39 over the wires into the top of the boards 29, 30 or by shooting the staples through a staple gun over the wires and into the boards 29,30. The loops 45 of the helical springs 17-22 are then hooked over the loops 40-43 of the wire clip 13 and the opposite ends 44 of the helical springs are hooked over the end bar 27 of the zigzag springs 14, 15, 16. The springs 14, l5, 16 may then be pulled taut and the front bar section simply hooked over the hook-shaped loops 33, 34, or 35 in the front wire clip 12.

The helical springs 17 -22 are used as interconnectors between the ends of the zigzag springs 14, 15, and 16 and the wire connector or clip 13 so as to soften the rear of the seat. This increases the cushioning effect at the rear of the seat and thereby makes the seat feel softer.

The helical spring interconnections between the zigzag springs and the frame have been described and shown only as being located at the rear of the seat assembly. They could equally well be connected to the front end if it was desired to make that end feel softer. Alternatively, the helical springs could be omitted and the rearwardmost bar section 27 of the zigzag springs inserted directly into the loops 4043 of the wire clip 13.

As will readily be appreciated by persons skilled in the furniture art, the subassembly 10 is formed into a completed seat of a chair or item of furniture by covering the tops of the zigzag springs with padding and then upholstering the assembly.

While the invention has been shown and described only in a seat assembly, it is equally useful in a backrest assembly or in any item of furniture which utilizes a rectangular wooden frame and zigzag springs extending between opposite sides of the frame.

The primary advantage of the invention described hereinabove is the ease with which it enables the zigzag springs to be mounted within and connected to the frame. It is a very simple and inexpensive matter to staple wire clips 12 and 13 directly to the wooden frame. Thereafter, the zigzag springs may be very quickly mounted within the frame either with or without the helical springs. Another advantage of this construction is that it automatically spaces the zigzag springs by having the loops or hooks preformed in the wire clips.

While only a single preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described herein, those persons skilled in this art will appreciate numerous modifications and changes which may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim: 1. A furniture subassembly comprising a rectangular wooden frame, a wire extending along one side of said frame and having its ends terminating adjacent the ends of that one side, stapling means securing said wire to said frame, said wire having a plurality of loops formed therein, said loops extending upwardly away from said one side of said frame, said loops having hooks configurated therein when viewed in a direction parallel to said one side, said hooks being bent away from the center of said rectangular frame, and a plurality of zigzag springs connected to opposite sides of said frame, each of said springs consisting ofa plurality of straight bar sections interconnected by reversely bent end sections, at least one of the endmost straight bar sections of each of said zigzag springs being connected to said frame by being mounted within the hooked portion of one of said loops of said wire. 2. A furniture subassembly comprising a rectangular wooden frame, a wire extending along at least one side of said frame, stapling means securing said wire to said one side, said wire having a plurality of loops formed therein, said loops extending upwardly away from said one side of said frame, said loops having hooks configurated therein when viewed in a direction parallel to said one side, said hooks being bent away from the center of said rectangular frame, and a plurality of zigzag springs connected to opposite sides of said frame, each of said springs consisting ofa plurality of straight bar sections interconnected by reversely bent end sections, at least one of the endmost straight bar sections of each of said zigzag springs being connected to said frame by a pair of interconnecting helical springs, each of said pair of helical springs having one end connected to said endmost straight bar section of said spring and the opposite end connected to one loop of said wire.

3. The subassembly of claim 2 wherein said pair of helical springs are connected to adjacent loops in said wire.

4. A furniture subassembly comprising a rectangular wooden frame,

wires extending along two opposite sides of said frame,

stapling means securing said wires to said sides of said frame,

each of said wires having a plurality of loops formed therein, said loops extending upwardly away from said one side of said frame, said loops having hooks configurated therein when viewed in a direction parallel to said sides, said hooks being bent away from the center of said rectangular frame, and

a plurality of zigzag springs connected to said opposite sides of said frame, each of said zigzag springs consisting of a plurality of straight bar sections interconnected by reversely bent end sections, one endmost straight bar section of each of said zigzag springs being connected to said frame by being mounted within the hooked portion of one of said loops of one of said wires and the other endmost straight bar section of each of said zigzag springs being connected to said frame by a pair of helical tension springs having one end connected to said zigzag spring and the other end connected to loops of one ofsaid wires.

5. A furniture subassembly comprising a rectangular wooden frame,

a wire extending along one side of said frame, said wire extending generally in a first direction parallel to said one side and having its ends terminating adjacent the ends of that one side,

stapling means securing said wire to said one side,

said wire having a plurality of loops formed therein, each of said loops having a first section extending perpendicular to said first direction and contacting said side and a second section connected to said first section and extending upwardly away from said one side of said frame, said loops having hooks configurated therein when viewed in a direction parallel to said one side, said hooks being bent away from the center of said rectangular frame, and

a plurality of zigzag springs connected to opposite sides of said frame, each of said springs consisting ofa plurality of straight bar sections interconnected by reversely bent end sections, at least one of the endmost straight bar sections of each of said zigzag springs being connected to said frame by being mounted within the hooked portion of one of said loops of said wire.

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